Midnight Orchids

by Angel Nyx

  “Good. I’ll order pizza. See you in a bit,” Emelise said and hung up.

  Kylie stood there, letting the hot sun beat down on her for several minutes before she gave herself a mental shake and headed over to Scarlet Flux. Maybe Emelise was right. Maybe she should give Remy the benefit of the doubt until she had the chance to confront him about what she saw, or thought she saw.

  Chapter Seven

  Kylie

  “Do you really think he was just helping the distraught wife of a friend?” Kylie asked. The pizza Emelise had ordered was mostly gone, and Hailey was distracted with a movie Eme had put on for her, giving Kylie a chance to question the other woman further.

  “Yes, I do. Remy wouldn’t lie about that, Kylie. I know it’s hard to wrap your mind around—believe me, I had a hard time with it myself—but when you find your mate, there really isn’t anyone else in the world for you. Women could strip naked and throw themselves at Remy and he still wouldn’t want anyone but you. You’re it for him.”

  Kylie couldn’t deny the way Emelise’s words made her feel. “Say you’re right, say he is my mate and I’m it for him. It almost sounds like…possession. I’m not an inanimate object someone can own. What’s to stop him from becoming overbearing, possessive, and controlling? What’s to stop him from going into a jealous rage if some guy flirts with me at work? I can’t live like that, Emelise. Not ever again. I would rather die alone than live that way again.”

  Eme reached for her and gave her hand a squeeze. “Kylie, stop. Remy isn’t Ezra. Please, just give him a chance to prove that to you. I can’t begin to imagine what you went through, the hell you survived, but you are doing yourself, and Remy, a grave disservice by not giving him a chance to prove to you that not every man is like that.”

  “I’m scared, okay? I’m scared to let anyone close again. The very thought of being vulnerable like that again, of being controlled, being told what to do, what to wear, having every aspect of my life not my own, terrifies me,” she whispered. She was shaking and silent tears slid down her cheeks.

  “I know you are, but sometimes you just have to close your eyes and take that leap of faith. I promise you, you will not regret it if you do.”

  Kylie closed her eyes for several minutes before she opened them and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll try.” She felt oddly light after finally agreeing to give Remy a chance to prove he was different.

  Remy

  As soon as he dropped Estelle off to visit with Mia, Remy called Declan. “Hey. I need a little assistance. I’ve got a buddy who has been a bit of an idiot. He got mixed up wit’ some motorcycle club and now his ass is in hot water. He left his wife a voicemail, tellin’ her to come see me. I’m pretty sure I know where he is, but I don’t want to go in dere solo.”

  Declan chuckled into the phone. “I’ve been itching for a good fight. Meet me at the warehouse; we can head out from there.”

  “On my way.” Remy hung up and headed back into New Orleans. Devon Beauchamp was always getting himself mixed up in things he shouldn’t. In high school it was some wannabe gangsters that Remy had to teach a lesson to before he proceeded to kick Devon’s ass, as well. Too bad he hadn’t learned his lesson from that mess. Here was hoping this time he woke up and realized fucking with the wrong people could get him hurt, or killed. Or worse, they could go after Estelle to get to him. That was the real reason he’d taken her out to the compound. He wanted to be sure she was where no one could get to her.

  When he pulled up in front of the huge warehouse Declan converted into space for the Pack to gather, as well as headquarters for Ghospoint Security, he found Declan waiting with Holden and Steele. “Afternoon,” he said to them. “I take it you boys are joinin’ da fun, oui?”

  “You got that right. When Dec told us what was up, we weren’t about to let you two have all the fun,” Steele replied with a grin.

  Holden growled a little. “What he said. My bear is itching for a fight.” Holden was the oldest among the Pack. That wasn’t to say he was old, just older than the others by several years. Much like his bear, he was broad and a bit gruff, with just enough facial scruff to almost have a beard. He slid onto the back of his Harley and revved it. “As Steele would say, let’s rock and roll.”

  “Damn straight!” Steele slid into the passenger seat of Declan’s car before they headed out with Remy in the lead.

  Twenty minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of what was quite obviously, by all the motorcycles, a biker bar. There were a few cars and trucks parked in the lot as well, but it was mostly bikes. Remy approached Declan once the other man was out of his car. “Looks like I was right. Dat’s Devon’s truck.” He pointed out an older Ford that was in better condition than most of the cars and trucks in the lot.

  “How do you want to do this?” Declan was letting the leopard take the lead.

  “Let’s see what he’s got hisself into. If dey’re beatin’ on him, dey’re in for a world of hurtin’.” It was a fairly safe bet that that was exactly what was happening on the other side of the door.

  Declan motioned for Remy to lead the way before he, Steele, and Holden fell in behind him. Granted, they were on the biker’s turf, but the men inside the bar were human. The four of them could handle it.

  The sound of flesh hitting flesh, accompanied by a grunt of pain, reached them just inside the door. Remy’s eyes narrowed. Tables were pushed to the side and there, in the center of the room, stood Devon. He was being held immobile by two men. “You boys done gone and made a real big mistake.” Remy let a growl trickle out as he stalked closer to where his friend was being held.

  His words grabbed the attention of the Club’s President. “The only ones making a mistake tonight, asshole, is you four. Look around you. You’re outnumbered.”

  Remy rolled his shoulders a bit as if to loosen them. “You tink so, do you?” He looked to Devon a moment. One eye was already swelling closed and his lip was busted. Whatever other injuries he had, they were probably beneath his clothes. “Let’s dance. Unless you’re afraid. Maybe you need dem bound before you’ve got da balls to hit dem.”

  That was all it took. Within minutes it was a free-for-all fight. Remy faced off with the Club’s Prez and traded him blow for blow. He lost track of time during the fight. It had his blood pounding and his heart racing. It felt damn good.

  Declan seemed to throw himself into the fight with more control than the others. With the way Steele and Holden were fighting, it appeared they’d been itching for a fight.

  From the corner of his eye, Remy watched as one of the bikers rushed at Declan and then froze. The enhanced hearing of his leopard helped him to hear the conversation between the two.

  “Fuck,” the biker growled.

  Declan’s eyes narrowed at the other man. “You’ve got a choice to make, wolf.” He kept his voice low so none of the humans overheard him.

  Remy noticed that the other man just stood there for several seconds before he lowered the bat he’d been charging at Declan with. “Behind you.”The biker shouted the warning when he noticed one of the others coming at Declan with a blade.

  Declan turned with barely enough time to keep from being stabbed. He grabbed the guy’s wrist and snapped it like a twig. The scream that came from him was enough to make everyone stop.

  “Enough! This piece of shit isn’t worth my boys getting their bones broken,” the MC club’s president said loudly enough to stop the fighting almost immediately. More than a few were already down for the count. “Get the fuck out of my sight and don’t you ever show your face around here again,” he said to Devon. “As for you.” Here he pointed at the biker who’d warned Declan. “You’re out.”

  The wolf removed his cut and laid it on the bar. “Yeah, I figured that.”

  “Nothing better happen to him,” Declan said and pointed at the wolf who’d yelled out the warning at him.. “No ‘accidents’. If they do, I’ll be back. Get me?”

  “Yeah, I get you, asshole.
Get the fuck out of my bar.”

  “Just as long as we’re on the same page.” Declan motioned the wolf to follow them outside.

  Remy had to help Devon outside. “Steele, mind drivin’ my truck and followin’ me? He’s in no condition to drive.”

  “Sure thing, Remy. You taking him home or to the hospital?”

  “Hospital.” When Devon started to argue, Remy cut him off. “You need to be looked at. If dey broke any ribs, it could puncture your lung and kill you.”

  “Good thinking. That was one hell of a fight. Thanks for inviting us along,” Steele said after he got the keys from Remy.

  “Follow me,” Declan ordered the unfamiliar while he headed to his car.

  Remy noticed Declan didn’t give the wolf any time to argue or refuse. It made sense. He was in Ghostpoint Pack territory, and Remy was sure Declan wanted to know how long he’d been there. Not to mention the fact that, until recently, all of New Orleans had been Pard territory. How had the wolf managed to avoid crossing paths with anyone from the Pard?

  “Do me a favor. Wait til I’ve dropped Devon off at da hospital and can come out to da Pack’s headquarters to have your little chat wit’ him,” he said to Declan. “I want to be dere.”

  “You got it. Meet you back at the warehouse.” Declan slid into his car, revved the engine, and took off.

  Remy dialed Gage’s phone while he drove. “Hey, little brother. I need you to bring Estelle to da hospital. Naw, he’s not bad off, but he got a bit beat up. I wanna make sure no’ting’s broken. Thanks.” He hung up and turned his attention to the road. “You’re a damn fool, Devon. What were you tinking gettin’ mixed up wit’ dem? What if dey’d gone after Estelle to get to you? Huh? Did you tink of dat? No, of course not. You never tink.”

  “You’re right. I am a fool. I’m not going to argue or deny it because it’s the truth. I never should have gotten mixed up with them. I don’t know why Estelle puts up with me and my shit.” His words were a bit garbled thanks to the busted lip but he was understandable enough.

  “Dat’s what love does; it makes you do tings you wouldn’t normally see yourself doin’. She loves you. She’s loved you since high school. I don’t see dat changin’ any time soon.” When he pulled up at the hospital, he turned to face him. “Be smart dis time. Don’t get mixed up in someting dat will get you or Estelle hurt. It would destroy her if you got yourself killed.”

  “I know. I’m going to straighten my shit out. Thanks for saving my ass, Remy. Again.”

  “Dat’s what friends are for.” Remy made sure Devon got checked into the ER before he went to where Steele had parked his truck. “Move over.”

  “This baby drives like a dream.” Steele patted the dash before he scooted over to the passenger side.

  “Wit’ all da work I put into her, she should.” He was anxious to see Kylie, to talk to her, but he needed to be there when Declan questioned the biker. He wanted to know how the shifter had kept under the radar and for how long.

  “Took you long enough.” Declan wasn’t exactly pacing the main floor of the warehouse but he was pretty close.

  “Where’s da wolf?” Remy cocked a brow at him.

  “Whoa, the biker dude is a wolf? No wonder he froze like he did. I should have known,” Steele said.

  “Yes, you should have.” The look Declan gave him spoke volumes.

  “Sorry, Boss. I was caught up in the fight and once we were outside, he was downwind of me so I didn’t catch his scent.” There was contrition in Steele’s voice.

  Declan waved away his apology. “Let’s go have a chat with him. I locked the wolf in one of the empty storage rooms.”

  Kaige

  Kaige Vidari was considered a lone wolf because he didn’t have a pack. If you asked him, however, he would disagree. It was he and his younger sister against the world. That was all the pack he needed. When he was sixteen, he’d been out with some friends and left the party early. To this day he was glad he did. He’d surprised their father by coming home early. He walked in on the sick bastard raping his fourteen-year-old sister. He didn’t even think about what he was doing. He’d just reacted, and in the end their father lay dead in a pool of blood. He and Luna took off that night. They’d taken everything of value and left, and not once had either of them looked back.

  It had taken a long time for Luna to heal from the trauma of what their father had done to her. As time passed he’d learned that that night wasn’t the first time. Not by a long shot. Their father had been raping her since she was ten. It made him sick to realize she’d hidden that secret for four years and would have continued hiding it if he hadn’t gone home early that night.

  The first few years they moved around, a lot. They didn’t stay in one place for too long because they didn’t know if anyone from the pack was hunting them. After almost a decade of constantly moving, however, they decided they wanted to settle in one place and put down some roots. They’d come to New Orleans a year ago, and within days they knew the area was controlled by a group of leopard shifters. They stayed on the outskirts of the city, only venturing into the city when they had to, which wasn’t often, since they did most of their shopping in nearby Kenner. Luna worked from home; she worked as a graphics design artist and made decent money from it, while Kaige found work at a shop as a mechanic. It paid the bills and that was what mattered.

  He’d met Reed, President of The Jackals, a local biker gang, a week after he started working at the shop. Somewhere along the way, he decided he wanted to join the Club, became a Prospect, and got patched in.

  Now that was over. Fuck. All because an Alpha wolf had to show up at the bar while Reed dealt with some idiot who tried to stiff him on money owed. What had really puzzled him, however, was the fact that there was a leopard and a bear with him and the other wolf. To say it was an odd group would be putting it lightly.

  When the sound of the lock turning reached him, Kaige leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. He wasn’t going to let the other wolf think he’d been cowed by being locked in the storage room.

  “Come out. Unless you’re comfortable in there.”

  Kaige snorted and pushed off the wall before he stepped out of the room. “So is this where I get to be interrogated? Let me save you the breath. Name’s Kaige Vidari. Moved to the area about a year ago and joined the Jackals not long after.”

  “I’m Declan Monroe. The leopard is Remy Delacroix, one of the Black Water Pard’s lieutenants. The other wolf is Steele Reinhardt and the bear is Holden Montgomery. How is it you managed to stay under the radar for a year?”

  Kaige could have been a smart ass but he chose not to. “By not coming into the city much. Most of the shopping is done in Kenner. I need to make a call. There’s someone I need to check on. The Jackals aren’t likely to ignore my betrayal. Reed might not come after me, personally, but he knows there’s another way to get to me.”

  “How? Who is it?” Declan nodded when he held up his phone as if asking for permission to use it.

  “My sister.” He hit the speed dial for her number and started to worry when she didn’t answer right away. “Luna, I need you to pack a bag and get out of the house. If you see any of the boys coming your way, you get the fuck out of there. Shift if you have to. Got me?”

  “Kaige, what’s going on?”

  “Just do it, Luna. I’ll text you an address where you can meet me in the city. I’ll explain then. And Luna? Be careful. Please.”

  “Okay.” This wasn’t the first time they’d had to pack up and leave with short notice so she didn’t argue with him.

  “Give her this address. She’ll be safe here.” Declan rattled the address off for him. “I will warn you now, though. You and your sister can use rooms here until this shit with the MC blows over, but there are always several members of the Pack here, many of whom also work for Ghostpoint Security. If you’re trying to play us, you’ll regret it. Sasha can get your sister hooked up to the internet for work.”

&n
bsp; “Thank you.” Kaige rubbed a hand down his face. “We’re not playing you. We’ve been on our own since I was sixteen and Luna was fourteen. We’re all we’ve had for the last decade. My sister, she’s…fragile.”

  “What happened to your pack? Or are you only half shifter?”

  He noticed the way Declan was watching him and was pretty sure the wolf was judging more than just his words. “No, we’re not half. Our mother died in childbirth and took her third child with her. We would have had another sister if she’d survived. When Luna was fourteen…I caught our father raping her. I’d been out with some buddies but went home early. I can’t honestly tell you what happened when I walked in and saw what he was doing. I went into a blind rage and when it was over, he was dead. We packed bags, grabbed everything of value we could sell, and took off. I found out a little later on that he’d been raping her since she was ten. She healed, to an extent, but it damaged her, too. She tends to shy away from people. She got a degree in graphics design, completely online, and works from home so she doesn’t have to interact with others often.”

  “Jesus. I’d have killed him too. The bastard deserved to die,” Steele growled. “I’ve got a younger sister myself. I haven’t seen her in ages but we talk often on the phone. I’d have done the same thing if I’d caught my father, or anyone, forcing themselves on her.”

  “What brought da two of you to New Orleans?”

  Kaige turned his attention to Remy, who’d asked the question.

  “We were in New Mexico, looking at a map while we decided on where to go from the little town we’d stopped in, when Luna told me she was tired of moving all the time. She wanted a place that she could really turn into a home. I told her to pick a town and that was where we would move to and put down roots. She chose New Orleans.”